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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 116 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. I've got to change the light ________________.
  2. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  3. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  4. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  5. He was locked up in a ________________.
  6. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  7. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  8. He is an ace ________________.
  9. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  10. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  11. The King held a masked ________________.
  12. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  13. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  14. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  15. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  16. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  17. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  18. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  19. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  20. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  21. The light ________________ burned out.
  22. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  23. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  24. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. bulb — for light
  2. cell — in biology
  3. field — farmland
  4. net — for catching
  5. cell — in a prison
  6. pitcher — a jug
  7. bulb — of a plant
  8. pitcher — in baseball
  9. racket — for tennis
  10. ball — a round shape
  11. ball — a dance
  12. net — after costs
  13. cell — a phone
  14. net — in sport
  15. patient — calm and waiting
  16. ball — a great time
  17. racket — a loud noise
  18. field — a subject
  19. patient — a sick person
  20. pitcher — a jug
  21. bulb — for light
  22. racket — for tennis
  23. patient — a sick person
  24. field — for sport

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com